2004 (Executive Committee—55th Session) of sustainable reintegration 5 ; and urges States, UNHCR and other relevant actors to strengthen their efforts to provide durable solutions for refugees and other persons of concern; (i) Acknowledges the increasing complexities of the environment in which international protection is provided and the many challenges faced by States and by UNHCR in ensuring and providing protection for refugees and other persons of concern; (j) Strongly condemns all attacks on humanitarian personnel, including local and international staff of UNHCR and its implementing partners; deplores the rising toll of casualties and mortalities among such personnel; and urges States to fully investigate such attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with international law and national law; (k) Welcomes the accession by a number of States to the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel; encourages those States which have not acceded to this Convention to consider doing so; and calls in particular on States in whose territories humanitarian operations are undertaken to safeguard the physical security of all humanitarian personnel and to provide a security environment that allows safe and unhindered access by UNHCR and other humanitarian personnel to persons in need of protection and assistance; (l) Expresses concern at the persecution, generalized violence and violations of human rights which continue to cause and perpetuate displacement within and beyond national borders and which increase the challenges faced by States in effecting durable solutions; and calls on States to address these challenges while ensuring full respect for the fundamental principle of non-refoulement, including non-rejection at frontiers without access to fair and effective procedures for determining status and protection needs; (m) Deplores the fact that refugees, returnees and other persons of concern to UNHCR, in particular women and children, continue to be subjected to murder, armed attack, sexual and gender-based violence, forced military recruitment, separation of families, violations of or threats to their personal security and other fundamental rights; condemns in particular the armed attacks which took place in Gatumba transit centre, Burundi, in August 2004, which led to the killing of a large number of Congolese refugees; and, in this context, emphasizes the importance of host States taking appropriate measures to protect refugee camps and settlements including whenever possible through ensuring, in consultation with UNHCR, their location at a reasonable distance from the border; and also emphasizes the importance of protecting refugees from other forms of threat and harassment from any groups or individuals; (n) Reiterates that the grant of asylum to refugees is a peaceful and humanitarian act, and that all actors are obliged to abstain from any activity which serves to undermine this; recalls its Conclusion No. 94 (LIII) on the civilian and humanitarian character of asylum and the useful discussions which took place on this subject in the context of the Global Consultations on International Protection; welcomes the convening by UNHCR of an expert round table in June 2004 which explored these issues further; and encourages UNHCR, in consultation with States and other relevant actors, to continue this process with a view to elaborating measures for the disarmament of armed elements and the identification, separation and internment of combatants; (o) Reaffirms that protection must be addressed in a holistic manner by UNHCR; recognizes that the delivery of international protection is a resource-intensive function; encourages UNHCR to strengthen its protection presence in the field through the regular review of post locations, including the reallocation of posts, whenever and wherever necessary, particularly to ensure a presence close to refugee settings, the proactive deployment of staff in between assignment, the creation of additional posts where reallocation is not possible, continued efforts to ensure the timely filling of protection posts, and the active use of various short-term deployment schemes; and calls upon States to extend their support in this regard through the timely and predictable provision of adequate resources; (p) Reiterates the importance for UNHCR programmes of gender-sensitive planning and analysis and the value of structured dialogues with refugee women in order to better address their protection needs and safeguard their rights, and of working towards their empowerment, particularly through training and skills development; and acknowledges the importance of working with refugee men as well as with refugee women and other relevant actors to promote refugee women's rights; (q) Recalls its Conclusion No. 84 (XLVIII) on refugee children and adolescents and other Conclusions relevant to the specific protection needs of this group; and reiterates the importance of full and effective implementation of standards and procedures to better address these needs and to safeguard rights, in particular to ensure adequate attention to unaccompanied and separated children and to former child soldiers in refugee settings as well as in the context of voluntary repatriation and reintegration measures; 5 In accordance with Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. 161